Work on replacing the Stead St pump station with a new energy-efficient, fish-friendly facility by Environment Southland has meant that traffic has been limited to one lane.
Delays in the works caused by issues including an incorrectly built concrete slab and weather events have extended the time required for the works.
Stead St is the main access route for Otatara residents to the rest of Invercargill and the one-lane access has resulted in up to 20-minute delays at temporary traffic lights.
Ziffs Café and Bar owner Tracey McDouall said it seemed like the access had been limited for a long time and she was pretty sure most Otatara residents were looking forward to the reopening of two lanes.
"I guess it just creates a really negative mindset for a lot of people.
"It is what it is. It will be finished when it’s finished, but we just hope it’s sooner rather than later."
She said a lot of people had complained about how long they had to wait, and people were frequently late to work.
"Sometimes you can leave earlier to go to work, but you can’t leave earlier if you have to drop your kids to school, because they’ve got to be there at a certain time."
Environment Southland integrated catchment management general manager Paul Hulse said two lanes would be reinstated in Stead St on Tuesday.
They were supposed to be reinstated last weekend but due to the flooding in the previous week, contractors were unable to carry out the work they needed to do, Mr Hulse said.
The work included a concrete pour, asphalting the footpath and removing a sheet pile wall from within the neighbouring estuary.
A crane was required to support a specialist "man-cage" for the concrete pour process and the two lanes would be reinstated only when it was shifted to the pump station side of the road.
